Memories Portraits {blogged} » Peeks into Memories | Knoxville Photographer, Nancy Belden

So, this weeks What to Wear looks a bit messy with all of the various backgrounds, but the kids clothes at JCrew are awesome and it’s worth a little mess. I love the mix of color and texture in both of these outfits, perfect for any fall session!

Sister: Top, Sweater, Cords, Shoes
Brother: Shirt, Pullover, Jeans, Shoes

wow, this is late!  But it’s been a very busy day at the studio and ended with birthday festivities at my dad and step-mom’s… and I’m just now online.  But here is this weeks What to Wear, and I love these colors.  Fall sessions are quickly approaching, and I wanted to share some creative ways to wear color in the fall.  Layering is definitely a great way to go, especially for boys since it can add interest to their clothing that isn’t quite as over-the-top as the girls.

After the glorious fall we had last year, we are beginning to book for this year’s fall sessions now.   So, if you are interested in bringing your family in… go ahead and call the studio at 357-5800 for booking.
Little Brother: Outfit

Sister: Dress, Pants, & Shoes

Big Brother: Outfit

As promised, this weeks What to Wear is just for the boys. I love Hanna Anderson and purchasing all of your pieces from the same line will also ensure coordinating your colors exactly. These pieces are all boy, but have good colors and personality to them.

And, now I must confess, that I lost my file with all of the individual links… so, I’m linking to the entire boys shop at Hanna Anderson. I love it all anyway, so be sure to check them out!

I was given a challenge for this weeks What to Wear by someone very special coming into town flying all the way across the country for a family session (ok, and maybe a good visit too).  Nancy’s niece, Mandy, will be here in a few weeks and is struggling with choosing the perfect clothes for her little family to wear.  She requested a blue, brown, orange, and cream color palette (looove these colors, by the way!), so I decided to show two completely different looks with the same colors.  Mandy and her family will be going downtown for their session, so I felt it was very important to include alot of texture and color into these clothes to coordinate with the urban feel.  And, by the way, if you were interested in going downtown with your family but haven’t yet booked your Summer in the City Session, we have just a couple spots left!

The great thing about these two looks is that they reflect two totally different personalities, but either set would be totally appropraite for a session.  One look is young, hip, and fresh while the other is a bit more classic but has great texture and an awesome splash of color and pattern in baby boy’s necktie (I think I’d go with the orange polka dot — go vols!).  Let your family’s personality define what you wear.  You will be much more comfortable and it will show in your images, whatever your style may be.

Dad – Linen Shirt, Pants, Flip Flops
Mom – Dress, Boots
Baby Boy – Linen Shirt, Pants, Sandals, Necktie (I love them all, so I showed all of her ties!)

Dad – Shirt, Jeans, Shoes
Mom – Dress
Baby Boy – Shirt and Shorts, Shoes

Next week, I will finally post my long ago promised Brothers Only Edition of What to Wear, so all you mama’s with boys need to stay tuned…

lol, I think I’m going to have to start calling this What to Wear Wednesday Night since these posts always seem to go up so late! And I know I’ve promised a Brothers Edition soon but for the next couple of weeks I’ll be posting families in anticipation of our upcoming Summer in the City Sessions.  We have a few openings left, so if you are interested call us at the studio and we’ll get you booked!  I really wanted to go a little more urban with these, so here we go…

Dad: Outfit
Mom: Outfit
Brother: Polo Shirt, Jeans, Shoes
Sister: Tank Top, Skirt, Shoes

Wow. I gotta say just how much I love these clothes and just can’t get enough. Michelle and I went downtown last week and had a blast with Abbey and Addison. They were so sweet and completely sassy in their Matilda Jane, and they really fit the part. If you weren’t able to make it to our last Matilda Jane Trunk Show, you must come to our next one in September. As soon as details are nailed down, we’ll make sure to post. You will not want to miss the fall line!

I sooo love these images, they scream personality and it makes me all the more excited about our upcoming Summer in the City Sessions!
Join me on Sunday, August 16 down in the Old City for a fabulous family session. I love photographing downtown and capturing the urban feel of the Old City, and we’re offering a special rate of $35 off of our regular session fee. These sessions are always a big hit, and at this discounted rate I know these will book up quickly (in fact, they are already filling up)! If you’re looking for something a little more unique and would like to do something away from the studio, this is the session for you! Call 357-5800 to schedule your Summer in the City Session today.

And, by the way, Heather has been a busy bee this week so you can consider this your What to Wear for the week! You can never go wrong with anything Matilda Jane! For now though, pull up a chair and enjoy these amazing images.

Well, I guess if I had a superhero name it would be something like Linktastic or Postalot or something like that. These baby posts have taken me forever! And I could have actually just done this as one single baby post because so many of the items in both posts are interchangeable between boys and girls, but I chose to split them because so many parents think that the accessories are reserved for girls only. Not at all true! So I feel the need to show the vast plethora (do I sound smart using that word? I feel pretty smart right now) of completely cute and completely boy accessories that are out there! And the right accessory could be all your baby needs for a stunning portrait. Because, remember, I like baby skin and I like to see alot of it.

I can’t believe I left the leg warmers out of last weeks post! I love them on boys and girls, big and small. Just imagine a 6 month old sitting in natural window light wearing nothing but a pair of striped leg warmers? Tell me you wouldn’t fall in love!
Or a newborn baby boy wearing that knitted bear ears hat and sleeping soundly in the window sill…
or a 9 month old wearing that striped gnome hat, a white onesie, and playing with one of those brightly colored pull toys.
And I think a couple of these onesies were made for a custom Birth Announcement — I could totally see a new mom and dad in solid white shirts and blue jeans holding their baby in that Made with Love onesie gracing the front of their custom card.
Can you tell I could go on all day…

So, the moral of the story is to focus on the details. Yes, we still photograph alot of the standards — and I don’t dislike them either. Swear. Grandparents especially, they love the pink and the blue outfits and we like it too, but make sure to add a little kick to each session too. Things that show your families personality and your babies cute quirks. After all, that’s the cuteness you want to remember 16 years down the road when you are looking for any signs of that former sweet baby, lol!

Clothing:

Baby Boy Onesie, Baby Soy Kimono Bodysuit, Happy Shirt, Made with Love by… Onesie (ack, I love her whole shop!  Who could resist Double Trouble for twins?!), Little Citizens Onesie, Necktie Applique Onesies

Hats:

Funky Squares Beanie (you should note that this listing is for the crochet pattern only, but she’s made some cute pieces for me personally and I’m sure she would be happy to crochet a piece for you and list it.  I love this hat too much not to show it!), Blue Polka Beanie, Bla Bla Pocket Lemonade Hat, Reverse Rainbow Gnome Hat, Blue Pom Pom Hat, Snuggle Bear Flap Hat

Toys:

Pulling Some String Toys, Jingling Fabric Ball, Bla Bla Mini Peeko, Skwinkle, Patchwork Piggie, Nostalgic Baby Blocks

Legwarmers: all supercool, all from Babylegs

Diaper Covers:

Blue/Green Knit Diaper Cover, Brown Dots Diaper Cover, Cream Knit Diaper Cover

First, I must say just how fun this week’s What to Wear has been for me! It is seeping with all kinds of baby girl goodness, and this has been a treat for me to put together (although there may have been a client in the studio this morning listening to me complain about just saying how late I stayed up last night putting this together )  Hope you like to read about this kind of thing, because I have much to say!

ok, so I know just how tempting it is to bring several frilly dresses to sport your new doll in and photograph her in all of them, but rather than that let’s do something a little bit different. Bring one dress (or bring several and we’ll help you choose one at the studio) and lots of accessories so that we can have a good range to choose from.  Now don’t get me wrong, you know just how much I love the girl clothes, but for baby portraits I’m all about capturing their purity and innocence.  And that is usually best captured when showing some skin.  Having said that, let’s add some thought to it.  Imagine putting a nine month old chunky monkey in that pink striped hat with a solid diaper cover holding a little pink/green painted wooden toy and sitting on the white background. Or a newborn wearing nothing but one of those pink hats with the large flower and laying in a beautiful cream colored basket (we have tons of baskets, by the way.  I can’t stop buying them!)   Or your six month old in a solid onesie (or maybe it might say something cute like ‘Made with Love’ or something like that) and holding nothing but that tree teething ring sitting while sitting in natural window light.  We want your portraits to be simple and perfect, just like your baby.

I wanted to make sure that I really showed a good number of accessories here, because our Baby’s First Year clients will come in for four separate sessions during their first year.  And we want each session to be unique in it’s own way. So bring a bunch, and we’ll work with you to choose the right pieces for your sweet angel.

And, by the way, every single piece here is from Etsy.  I can’t get enough you know!  Stop by next week when it will be all about the Baby Boys — and oh boy, is it awesome!  I’ll also step away from Etsy (though not completely) to show you some more cool baby clothes/toys sites to peruse.

Here are all links, in order of appearance:

Hair Accessories

Hydrangea Headband, Grey Crochet Beanie Hat, Daisy Flapper Beanie, Pink Stripe Beanie, Pink Crochet Flower Hats, Pink Flower Headband

Diaper Covers

Chunky Hiney Cover, Floral Print Diaper Cover, You Pick Fabric Bloomers, Ginger Blossom Diaper Cover, Hoo’s There Ruffle Pants, Blue Ruffle Diaper Cover

Toys:

Block Talk, Giraffe Wooden Pull Toy, Teething Tree, Mod Blocks, Baby Stacking Rings, Baby Elephant Eco Softtoy

Pinafores:

Set 1, Set 2, Set 3, Set 4, Set 5, Set 6

This week I thought I’d just do the kids, since we do so many ‘kid only’ sessions.  And ok, I’ll admit it that usually I go off of the cutest girl outfits and base the boys around it.  Maybe it’s because I have a girl, but I just can’t help myself! Coming soon, I’ll do a What to Wear: Brothers Only.  Promise.  For the next two weeks it’ll be all about the babies though. Come back for the cutest, funkiest baby finds out there!

Sister: Outfit by Pretty Me Shop at Etsy, I’m linking her whole shop because I love every single piece! Sandles from Children’s Place
Big Brother: Shirt from Small Concept, Jeans from GapKids, Shoes from GapKids, I also think this would look great (probably even better) with a bright colored tee to match Sis underneath this shirt unbuttoned
Baby Brother: Onepiece from GapKids, Shoes from GapKids

In honor of Independence Day, I thought I’d have a red, white and blue color pallette for this weeks What to Wear.

Dad: Shirt from Boden, Pants from Boden

Mom: Top from Boden, Pants from Nimli

Sis: Top from JCrew, Skirt from Etsy, Headband from Etsy, Shoes from Endless

Brother: Shirt from Blabla, Shorts from Oh Baby, Shoes from Oh Baby